The rise of Syria, despite a US ban

Officially ostracised and boycotted by the US, Syria is increasingly asserting itself as both a regional and global player. Although last month the US once again accused Syria of supporting ‘terrorist groups’ and renewed sanctions, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the French and German foreign ministers, and Washington’s ally, King Abdullah of Jordan took the road to Damascus with the aim of strengthening ties with Syria.

Furthermore, in spite of Washington’s official negativism, a delegation from major US high-tech firms went to Damascus to examine the prospects of participation in Syria’s rapidly growing free market economy. Leading the delegation were Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s chief technology adviser and a member of her policy planning staff.
German firms have also sent high-profile executives to Damascus to discuss business deals while western financial newspapers and journals have teams in Syria to investigate investment prospects.

The road to Damascus is not one way. President Bashar al-Assad is also reaching out with the aim of expanding Syria’s circle of friends and extending its influence beyond West Asia. Last weekend he, his British-born wife Asma and a large group of ministers began a visit to Latin America, his most ambitious overseas tour since taking office in 2000.

Influence

The journey takes him to Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina, where there are large and influential Syrian emigrant communities, and to Cuba, an old comrade. Many of the Syrian emigrants in Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela are businessmen, engineers, and doctors. Argentina’s former President Carlos Menem is of Syrian origin.

In Venezuela, Dr Assad cemented relations with President Hugo Chavez, who shares Syria’s antipathy toward US policies. Dr Assad called on Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to launch a joint effort with Turkey to broker a deal between Syria and Israel over the occupied Golan. Dr Assad has also been signing trade and travel deals with his counterparts and urging them and emigrants to invest in Syria’s transformatory 2011-15 development plan.

In West Asia, Syria has built strong economic and trade ties with Turkey, achieved rapprochement with Lebanon, and restored relations with Saudi Arabia. To the east, Syria has retained traditional ties to India and cultivated connections with Malaysia and China. Syria has reached out to Europe and is in the process of drafting amendments to the EU association agreement.

But Syria has not been able to engage the Obama administration in dialogue because Washington conditions normalisation on Syrian disengagement from Iran, Lebanon’s Hizbollah movement, and dissident Palestinians and Iraqis. Syria welcomed President Barack Obama’s call a year ago for reconciliation with the Arab and Muslim worlds but accuses him of not addressing Arab and Muslim grievances.

Syria focuses on Obama’s failure to persuade congress to accept the appointment of Robert Ford as ambassador to Syria or lift embargoes on some items on the US sanctions list. The US decision to drop its objection to Syrian observer status at the World Trade Organisation is seen as a positive move although Damascus seeks full membership.
To demonstrate that it can be useful to the West, Syria helped free 15 British sailors seized by Iran in 2007 and BBC journalist Alan Johnston held by Hamas-affiliates in Gaza in 2008. Syria has persuaded Hamas’ Damascus-based politburo chief Khaled Mishaal to accept the idea of a Palestinian government not led by Hamas, go along with the 2002 Arab land-for-peace plan, and agree to a Palestinian state in the territories occupied by Israel in 1967. Nevertheless, the US has not respond to his overture by opening a tentative conversation.

For Syria, the Palestinian/Arab-Israeli conflict is an existential issue. Suleiman Haddad, head of the foreign relations committee of the Syrian parliament, pointed out to Deccan Herald, “We are a rich country, we have oil, agriculture, tourism, and an ancient culture but we must spend a large percentage of our budget on defence”. Israel is 45 kilometres from Damascus.

“Syrians want, real comprehensive peace. We expect more from Obama. The Americans must know that there will be no peace in the world if there is no peace in West Asia”.
Any deal must be based on “an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and control over its borders, airspace, and coast. There must be a solution to the refugee problem and Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Golan to the line of June 4, 1967.
If Israel gives these things, there will be no problem between the Arabs and Israel. But if this does not happen, the majority of the Arab people will take an extreme line and move close to al-Qaeda. We don’t want to reach this point.”